Work Songs & Opinions on Phish and Vivian Girls

Work Songs

Despite the fact that most musicians spend their lives avoiding a“real job,”there are a number of great songs about the drudgery and the glory of hard work. For this Labor Day episode Jim and Greg play their favorite Songs About Work.

Phish Joy

For two decades the jam band Phish has held a massive fan base. But, as Jim and Greg explain, most of these“Phish Heads”aren‘t all that interested in the band’s studio records; it's all about the live experience. Now, after a five-year hiatus during which lead singer Trey Anastasio battled drug addiction, the band is back with a new record called Joy. As always, the goal is to create songs that are successful on record and stage. With the exception of a couple of tracks, Greg doesn't think the songwriting holds up. He can only give Joy a Try It. Jim wishes the band would abandon its efforts at jazz and funkfusion and go back to its progressive roots. He loves the 13-minute suite "Time Turns Elastic," but gives the rest of the album a Try It.

Vivian Girls Everything Goes Wrong

Vivian Girls also have a new release called Everything Goes Wrong. The title might be referring to the year the band had following their successful self-titled debut. Not only did they lose their drummer, but guitarist/songwriter Cassie Ramone also went through a bad breakup. As Greg states, their pain is our pleasure. He loves this follow-up and hears a lot of musical growth. Jim agrees, adding that the Vivians' take on female sexuality is much needed in our culture. Everything Goes Wrong gets a double Buy It.